Having begun his secondary education during the Covid19 pandemic, Braybrook College year 12 student Hanson Ha has finished high school on a high, being named dux with an ATAR score of 99.05 in VCE results released on Thursday.
“It was pretty good” Ha said of seeing his results which will allow him to fulfil his goal of studying bio-medicine at either Monash or Melbourne University next year.
It’s a long way from six years ago when Ha was among the students starting Year 7 as a global pandemic broke out.
“We were like online for two years,” he recalled, adding that while returning to the classroom in 2022 was a big adjustment, it was ultimately beneficial.
“I was doing fair with my grades but not super good, but then I caught back up in year 9.”
Specialising in maths and science, Ha spent spent hours studying after school at Braybrook College’s VCE Centre Homework Club, while at home he often had to look after his older brother William who has autism.
“I’ve had to take care of him when my parents are not at home, cooking and cleaning and stuff like that,” he said.
Given his results and the amount of work he put into them, Ha would be forgiven for taking a well earned break over summer.
Instead, he’s hoping to pick up work helping other students study like he did.
“I plan to do work and maybe apply to be like a tutor, to give back to Braybrook College and become a tutor there.”
Ha was one of 22 students who scored 90 or above at Braybrook College, with the school performing particular well in English.
“The English (result) is particularly noteworthy because a lot of our kids come from non-English speaking backgrounds,” the school’s VCE coordinator Tania Gadea said.
Elsewhere, Francis White was named dux of Footscray High School’s Kinnear Campus with an ATAR of 99.55.
At Maribyrnong College, Ryan Ho was dux, with 99.7, while 18 students scored 90 or more and one in three 80 or more.
At Williamstown High School, more than a quarter of its VCE cohort scored at least 90, with Declan Rumble scoring 98.9 to be named dux.
